This guide intends to be concise and give a brief overview of the various aspects of the region, as well as explain what certain forums are for alongside some other details that we think are worth mentioning.
Remember though, regardless of how much this guide is supposed to help, getting involved in the several facets of the region and talking to other region members is both more fun and a much better source of information carrying experience!
Don't let your inexperience or status as a new member deter you from becoming involved in whatever you find fun or to making your acquaintance with other people!
If you haven't yet done so I'd also like to invite you to join our discord server and get to talk with the rest of the region members. Maybe you'd even like to get involved in a few rounds of werewolf!
If you notice anything in the guide that is incorrect, outdated or misspelled feel free to contact me in any way you can.
Index
- I - Introduction
- II - First Steps
- III - Getting Familiar
- IV - Getting Involved - Politics
- A - Running for Office
- V - Getting Involved - Military
- A - How does war work in NS?
- VI - Getting Involved - The Rejected Times
- VII - Getting Involved - Community Activities and Roleplay
- VIII - Helpful Links
The Rejected Realms is one of the Game Created Regions in NationStates and it is here where your nation will end up when it's banned or ejected from another, and as long as you remain here you'll never have to fear that happening again. This is your opportunity for a fresh start that will hopefully guide you into doing bigger and brighter things.
Maybe you were banned because your old region was invaded, or maybe because the founder didn't like something you said, or maybe because... there's a multitude of reasons, but in the end, there is no use in dwelling in the past.
The Rejected Realms is much more than where banned nations end up, it is a community just like many others, and shouldn't be subject to being a mere complaints office. It is understandable if you're upset about being expelled from your previous region, but there's simply nothing we can do other than welcome you into our community of rejects.
I hope you feel very much welcome in sharing your time with us and I'm sure we will too!
II - First Steps
The first step of getting further involved in The Rejected Realms, by being allowed to participate in the political aspects of the region and to potentially be a part of its government, is to apply for citizenship. If you haven't yet you should certainly do it here, and I'll be waiting for you when you get back.
In order to become a citizen, and remain one, it is required that you maintain a nation in the region and abide by community guidelines and regional rules.
While we are the region of rejects that does not mean that we have to abide by malicious behaviour that is detrimental to the region or to the well-being of the rest of the community, though, as long as you don't run afoul of these rules and make use of common sense, you too will find your place in the community of rejects.
Citizenship applications are judged by a council of three members called the Citizenship Council (the current members are Frattastan, Grim, and kyorgia), and they are in charge of ensuring that you fill the requirements to become a citizen.
Please understand that the Citizenship Council does the best they can do to both process applications in a timely manner but also to make sure the community remains a safe one, so you might have to wait a bit more than you'd like to. While you're waiting you could chat with us, or, who knows, finish reading this guide.
III - Getting Familiar
Feel free to introduce yourself by creating a thread here. Talk a bit about yourself, tell us what you like doing in NationStates and what you hope to do in The Rejected Realms and hopefully we'll be able to answer to your needs!
Whether you're already a citizen, waiting to be one or wanting to be one, if you want to become involved in the regional government you should become familiar with the laws of the region by reading them here. Though worry not, if legislation isn't what interests you, know that even the best regional legislators have to re-read these laws often.
The most important one, and the one that you should make your acquaintance with is the Constitution, which defines how the regional government operates and is a required reading for anyone wishing to become active in regional politics.
If you're interested in knowing more about the history of The Rejected Realms, or of NationStates in general, you could take a stroll though The Library of Spurned Knowledge, or read the articles in the Hall of Fame if you want to know more about Rejects of renown.
IV - Getting Involved - Politics
The first step into getting involved in regional politics is through the Assembly, of which all citizens are a member of, and can exercise their rights to vote in elections and in legislative votes, to partake in debate and to run for political office.
Participating in the assembly, whether be through presenting your own ideas for legislation, actively participating in debate or simply taking a bit of time out of your schedule to vote are great ways to show you're interested in participating in the political aspects of the region. It is thus a great way to start getting involved.
The Assembly is divided into the public main area, several archives and the Citizens' Private Forum, with its own archive. It is in the main assembly forum where legislation is proposed, discussed and voted on, and where election votes, sign ups and campaigning are held.
The Citizen's Private Forum is for more sensitive debates pertaining to the security of the region or votes on appeals to the Citizenship Council, and under no circumstances should the business conducted there be revealed to the public without the previous approval of the Speaker of the Assembly or of the Delegate.
If you want to jump into the government as soon as possible but don't think you'd get elected, or aren't interested in going through an election, you should contact one of the Officers, or the Speaker, and ask them if you can be their deputy. Provided that you're interested and capable you'll definitely be accepted as a deputy and will be entrusted with government affairs!
A - Running for Office
However if you feel confident enough in your abilities and wish to run for office you should make yourself acquainted with the election process and with the three elected positions: Speaker of the Assembly, Officers and Delegate.
The way elections work in The Rejected Realms means that you can run for any position by challenging one of the incumbent if you so wish to, though there are also scheduled elections for each position, and if any of the Officer seats is vacant you'll have to challenge the vacant one of the vacant seats.
Challenging someone is fairly simple, all you need to do is create a topic in the Assembly saying who you are challenging and describe your plans for that position. Specifics on the election process, and what each position does will follow below.
The Speaker of the Assembly is tasked with moderating the Assembly by creating the necessary topics for elections and votes, counting votes, opening election registration, moderating debate and generally making sure the Assembly is working properly.
To run for Speaker you need the support of one citizen, or two, if the last election was less than one month ago. After enough support is received there will be four days of campaigning, during which others can declare their intention run, and after which a vote will be held. The Speaker is also elected on the 1st of January, 1st of April, 1st of July and 1st of October for terms of three months.
The Officers are tasked with enacting government policy. When running for Officer you're not running for a particular portfolio, but rather one is assigned to you by the Delegate, who can change these roles at will.
The portfolios generally include Foreign Affairs, which is in charge of maintaining diplomatic relations with other regions, Outreach, which is charged with the recruitment of regional members into the forums and to ensure that the Delegate's endorsement rate grows, Culture, which is in charge of creating community activities and ensuring general activity in the region, and Media, which is in charge of The Rejected Times, the regional newspaper of which will be covered in more detail further below.
To run for Officer you need the support of one citizen, or two, if the last election was less than one month ago. After enough support is received there will be four days of campaigning, during which others can declare their intention run, and after which a vote will be held. Officer elections also take place on the 1st of April, 1st of August and on the 1st of December for terms of four months months.
The Delegate is the chief of the executive in The Rejected Realms, and as such they determine government policy and manage the cabinet, along with all the other responsibilities attached to governing a region.
To run for Delegate you need the support of two citizens, or four, if the last election was less than one month ago. After enough support is received there will be seven days of campaigning, during which others can declare their intention run, and after which a vote will be held. Delegate elections do not have a pre-scheduled date, instead elections are held every six months after the previous Delegate election.
V - Getting Involved - Military
Maybe you've heard of NationStates militaries or R/D, or maybe you haven't, or maybe being banned by raiders or defenders is how you even got here in the first place! Whatever the case is, the Rejected Realms Army, or the RRA for short, is here to help, and you're free to join it here. Unlike many other regional militaries the RRA also accepts as members players that are not citizens of the region.
The RRA is a defender military region charged with not only protecting The Rejected Realms from outside threats, but also with defending any would be target of raiders, stopping raiders from occupying regions and stopping raiders from destroying whole regions. The RRA works closely with many other defender militaries and also often aids our allies in their own defensive operations.
While the RRA is led by officers independent from the government of The Rejected Realms they still take their commitment to the region very seriously and many past and present members and officers of the RRA have also held very important positions in the region, such as Delegates, Administrators and Officers.
If you're not familiar with how NationStates militaries and warfare works then what follows is a simple guide, and if you are already familiar feel free to skip through the next sub-chapter.
A - How does war work in NS?
In NationStates the main battlegrounds are founderless regions, where the World Assembly Delegate have all the powers that a founder would have, and this includes banning and ejecting anyone without the possibility of the Founder removing their powers to do so.
So, in NationStates, players try to occupy these regions by moving into them with World Assembly nations and seizing the seat of the World Assembly Delegate, followed by banning residents, canceling embassies, changing the World Factbook Entry and suppressing the RMB. People who take part in these activities are typically referred to as raiders.
On the other hand there are players and organisations, like the RRA, committed to stopping raiders from raiding, and these are called defenders. To do so defenders must intercept raiders, or if that is not possible, to oust raider delegates from occupied regions.
Most military operations in NationStates take place during update times (12 am & 12 pm EST) as it is at these times that the Delegate changes happen, with each region updating at a different time within a period that can generally go from 40 minutes to over an hours.
Just as raiders try moving as close to a region's update time to seize the delegacy, so do defenders who try to intercept raiders as fast as they can, or try to move into an occupied region as close to update as they can so they can liberate the region. And if this leaves you wanting to know more NS military gameplay you should read about it here.
VI - Getting Involved - The Rejected Times
The Rejected Times is The Rejected Realms, and probably NationStates, finest newspaper. While it is overseen by the regional government it does not simply publish articles of interest to just TRR, or just cover regional occurrences, but also intends to publish articles about a wide array of topics that are pertinent to NationStates as a whole.
Over its long and prestigious existence The Rejected Times has published articles by not only Rejects of renown but also by many well-known players from all the corner of NationStates. By joining TRT's Staff you will be continuing this legacy as a writer for one of the most beloved media organisations in NationStates.
So, whether you're interested in writing about interregional politics, military operations or word assembly affairs, talking about roleplaying, interviewing famous, or not-so-famous, players, writing humorous satirical articles or anything in between The Rejected Times is the place for you.
Or maybe you're not much of a writer but more of an artist, because if so you can always contribute with your skills to create great cartoons for TRT.
So if you're interested in becoming a contributor to The Rejected Times I invite you to apply here and maybe this might just be the start of a prominent career in The Rejected Realms, as these are the steps of several former Officers and Delegates!
VII - Getting Involved - Community Activities and Roleplay
So, maybe you're not interested in politicking? Or you just don't have the time to be active in the RRA or to write long articles. Or maybe you are, but also want to look for something else.
If you're a roleplayer then maybe head down to the roleplay forum. There you will find your typical Nation Roleplay, along with other roleplayers pitching in their ideas. If you have an idea and want to see if people are interested don't shy away from creating a thread.
Or maybe you're just looking for some fun activities or casual games? We hold games of Werewolf every now and then, and you can also find a Werewolf bot in our discord server, which you should have really joined by now! TRR also has its own version of Christmas, and a far more silly one, called Rejectmas, which you can read more about here. Take your time and come chat with the rest of us. What makes NationStates fun is the people you play it with, after all!
Maybe, if you want to write but want to do it with more freedom to write about what you want when you want, then feel free to start your own private newspaper. Or maybe you just want to spam your heart away, because you can do that too in the BBQ & Grill.
If you want to dig your hands through old archives and forums you should head to The Rejected Realms' Historical Society, dedicated to unveiling the secrets of TRR. Or maybe join the Culture Department and let your ideas shape TRR's community!
VIII - Helpful Links
Become a Citizen
Become an Ambassador
Join the RRA
Join the TRT Staff
Join the Culture Department Staff
Frequently Asked Questions
